• Kristen Connolly is an American actress born in Montclair, New Jersey in 1980.
• Her most notable role is lead character Dana in the 2011 horror comedy film “The Cabin in the Woods”.
• She is married to American actor Stephen O’Reilly and has two children with him.
• She is a fan of travelling, animals and winter and enjoys watching shows such as “Friends” and “That ‘70s Show”.
• She is 40 years old with a net worth of over $5 million.
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Who is Kristen Connolly?
Kristen Nora Connolly was born in Montclair, New Jersey USA, on 12 July 1980 – her zodiac sign is Cancer and she holds American nationality. She is an actress who might be known best for her portrayal of the lead character Dana in the 2011 horror comedy film “The Cabin in the Woods”, written and directed by Drew Goddard, and which also starred Chris Hemsworth and Anna Hutchison. The movie follows a group of friends who decide to stay at an abandoned cabin which is more than just a simple cabin. It was a hit, winning 20 awards while it was nominated for 34 others.
Childhood and education
Kristen was raised in Montclair alongside her younger brother Will by their parents, who prefer to stay away from the media’s attention.
Will is also an actor as well as a musician, known for his portrayal of Ethan Garvin in the 2016 critically acclaimed action crime film “Person of Interest”, which won nine awards and was nominated for 22 others, including a Primetime Emmy.
Kristen became interested in acting while attending a local high school, and played lead characters in most plays performed there. She was also physically active, as she ran track and occasionally went to the gym to be fit and ready for her acting career. Upon matriculating in 1998, Kristen enrolled at Middlebury College before switching to Yale School of Drama, from which she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 2002.
Roles in movies
Kristen made her debut film appearance in 2003, when she portrayed Art History Student in the drama “Mona Lisa Smile”, written by Lawrence Konner and Mark Rosenthal, directed by Mike Newell, and which starred the famous actress Julia Roberts. It follows an art professor teaching girls about social roles in the ‘50s, and was nominated for six awards, including a Golden Globe.
Kristen went on to appear in several movies, and gained recognition in 2008 after portraying the Make Out Girl in the adventure family comedy “Meet Dave”, which starred the comedian Eddie Murphy and Elizabeth Banks. It follows a group of tiny aliens controlling a spaceship that looks as a man, while things become complicated after he falls in love with a woman.
It won two awards and was nominated for three others. In 2008, Kristen appeared in the romantic drama “Revolutionary Road”, which starred Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, and won 20 awards while it was nominated for 73 others, including three Oscars. The movie follows a young couple struggling to raise their kids in Connecticut. The following year saw her in another romantic drama – “Confessions of a Shopaholic”.
A couple of her following appearances were in the 2010 comedy “Superego”, the 2011 drama “Certainty”, and the 2012 horror science fiction thriller “The Bay”. In 2014, Kristen was cast to play Zoe in the romantic comedy “Worst Friends”, while the same year saw her star alongside Joan Allen and Anthony LaPaglia in the crime thriller “A Good Marriage”.
Her following notable performance was in the 2017 biographical crime drama “The Wizard of Lies”, which starred Robert De Niro and Michelle Pfeiffer, and is about a Ponzi scheme, the worst fraud in the history of the USA, when Bernie Madoff stole $65 billion from numerous business people and investors.
Kristen has recently been cast to portray Jackie in the upcoming thriller “Deep Water” set to be released on 13 August 2021.
Roles in TV series
Kristen made her debut TV series appearance in 2008, when cast to portray Fanny in the episode “Honor” of the crime science fiction drama “New Amsterdam”, and she gained recognition later that year when invited to portray Jolene in the romantic drama “Guiding Light” ,which aired from 1952 to 2009 and in those 57 years won over 100 awards while being nominated for around 450 others.
In 2008, Kristen portrayed Josie Anderson, one of the supporting characters in the romantic drama “As the World Turns”, which also aired for more than 50 years, and numbers over 3600 episodes. The following years saw her appear in single episodes of various series, such as the comedy drama “Nurse Jackie”, the comedy “CollegeHumor Originals”, and the mystery crime drama “The Good Wife”. In 2013, she played Christina Gallagher in the drama “House of Cards” created by Beau Willimon, and which starred Kevin Spacey, Michel Gill and Robin Wright; it follows a Congressman who is planning to have his revenge on those who betrayed him, and was a huge success, winning 34 awards including two Golden Globes, while it was nominated for 215 other awards.
In 2015, Kristen played Lena in all 13 episodes of the mystery horror drama “The Whispers”, and the same year saw her start portraying Jamie Campbell, one of the lead characters in the mystery science fiction drama “Zoo”. It also starred James Wolk and Nonso Anozie, and follows a scientist trying to discover why the animals have suddenly become violent.
One of Kristen’s most recent appearances in a TV series has been in three 2020 episodes of the crime horror drama “Evil”, which follows a priest and a clinical psychologist working together to discover if there’s a scientific explanation to ‘miracles’ and demonic possession, or if there is indeed something supernatural there. The series was nominated for seven awards.
Awards and nominations
Kristen has only been nominated for one award – a 2015 Women’s Image Network Award for Outstanding Actress Made for Television Movie / Mini-Series for her performance in the biographical drama series “Houdini”.
Love life and husband
Kristen is married to the American actor Stephen O’Reilly, but the two are keeping details of their marriage to themselves, including how they met and when they exchanged vows. Kristen gave birth to their son Stephen in July 2018, while their daughter followed in May 2020.
Stephen is an actor and writer, who holds a Master of Arts degree from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. He has been credited with appearing in around 25 movies and TV series, while probably known best for his portrayal of Spike in the 2016 comedy crime series “Limitless”.
Neither Kristen nor Stephen have talked about any other people they might had dated before meeting one another, and as of January 2021, Kristen is married to Stephen O’Reilly, and they have two children together.
Hobbies and other interests
Kristen’s main passion is travelling, and she has been all around the US both alone and with her husband, and also to various European countries. Sometime in the summer of 2020, she visited Eze in France with her husband, mostly because she wanted to see Chateau de la Chevre d’Or.
She is a huge lover of animals, and one can see pictures of dogs, peacocks and turtles uploaded onto her Instagram account. Kristen also has a pet dog called Lucy.
Her favorite season is winter because she loves snow, and also enjoys spending the holidays with her family.
Kristen is a huge fan of chocolate doughnuts.
In her spare time, she enjoys watching TV series starring her favorite actors Matt LeBlanc, John Lithgow and Mila Kunis, such as “Friends”, “That ‘70s Show” and “The Third Rock from the Sun”.
Age, height and net worth
Kristen’s age is 40. She has long brown hair and blue eyes, her height is 5ft 7ins (1.7m) and she weighs around 130lbs (59kgs).
As of January 2021, her net worth has been estimated at over $5 million.